Helen and Sullivan

Helen and Sullivan have one of our favorite rescue stories. BAHR was contacted by a rescue group in Georgia, with a desperate plea. It seems Helen had been abandoned, completely blind and heavily pregnant, by a roadside there. Animal Control had picked her up but could not keep her. This rescue group had stepped in and asked for assistance online. A private rescuer agreed to take her in at her place in Western NY, so the group fundraised to ship her to NY. Within weeks, the private citizen claimed Helen ate too much food, made too much mess, and she was sure there would be troubles with her upcoming foaling. She wanted the rescue group to pay for her to foal at Cornell, although there was no way to know what she had been bred to, or when she was due to foal. The group asked if we could take Helen in and foal her out, then place them in good homes. We stepped up, found a foster home experienced in foaling mares, and kept Helen to see her through her pregnancy.

Surprise! Helen had a normal birth and a beautiful, healthy colt! We named him Sullivan, Sully for short, after Helen Keller’s teacher. Helen proved an excellent mother, grew to trust people much more, and raised a very handsome fellow. After weaning, Helen was adopted by a generous supporter who had also taken in another blind horse from BAHR. The two live peacfully in big grassy fields together. Sully was adopted by one of our volunteers who grew attached while watching him grow. She has trained him from the start and he is already proving to be a super trail partner.